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Megan Wilkes (left) and Mary Sparks are the brains and brawn behind Emporium Pies in the Bishop Arts District.

Emporium Pies, which started as a pop-up shop earlier this year, is making holiday pies at its Bishop Arts store. Here’s what the baking team says, in a recent email:

This year, the budding entrePIEnuers at Emporium Pies are taking pre-orders for their delicious,
holiday pies, the Drop-dead Gourdgeous, their scrumptious and unique spicy pumpkin pie
with handmade gingerbread crust and the Drunken Nut, their signature bourbon pecan pie
with a sweet shortbread cookie crust. While pre-orders are only available for the pumpkin and
pecan, a limited quantity of their regular menu, including a deep dish caramel apple pie and abutterscotch meringue pie, will be available for pick up Monday the 19th through Wednesday
the 21st at their shop at 314 N. Bishop Avenue in the Bishop Arts District.
You can pre-order your pies in their shop, on their website at emporiumpies.com, or over the
phone. Most pies are $30.

Across town in the locavore jungle at Fitzhugh and Bryan, here’s the word from Urbano Cafe:

In case you are doing Thanksgiving posts about, I wanted to let you know that Urbano Cafe and our wonderful pastry chef, Lilly Hanson (previously of Bolsa and Hotel ZaZa), will be selling some delicious gourmet pies for Thanksgiving. They are:

They are $25 each and must be ordered by Nov. 17 for pickup by Wednesday, Nov. 21. People can call the restaurant at 214-823-8550 to order. Lilly is also doing ready-to-bake bacon and chive scones – great for brunch – 6 for $12. Same ordering scenario.

Kim again: And while you’re there, you can get Italian items, wine and locavore goodies for the Thanksgiving table at Jimmy’s Food Store, or mushrooms, greens and other fresh things at FM 1410, Tom Spicer’s world in the same block.

How’s this for a delicious-sounding event: Tom Spicer and Urbano Cafe are teaming up for a BYOB pig roast and back porch blues bash on Thursday, May 24 in the garden at Spicer’s FM 1410. The menu will feature whole roasted pig, gumbo, roasted corn and vegetables, summer squash salad, potato mash and more. New Orleans-based musician, storyteller and songwriter Spencer Bohren will provide the entertainment.

“Guests can bring a cooler for their beverages, sit on the porch or throw a blanket or lawn chair out in the garden, load up a plate of food and relax to some great blues,” says the press release. It goes on to quote Urbano owner Mitch Kauffman, whose first restaurant job was at the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans.

“Tom and I have wanted to do an event that celebrates our unique location, the garden, great food and music….We both saw Spencer play all over New Orleans at places like Tipitina’s and Snug Harbor, and we thought he’d bring the right sound to bring it all together.”

Spicer, a Louisiana native, adds, “”Food and music are meant to be shared, and what better way to do it than with friends, in the middle of the city in an oasis like my garden…. People have enjoyed my produce at restaurants all over town but don’t realize it comes from right here – I love showing them and seeing their reactions.”

This time, the Urbano Cafe dinner is not BYOB. Ken Coopersmith, winemaker Merry Edwards‘ husband, will lead a five-course dinner with the wines of Merry Edwards Winery. She’s one of the preeminent female winemakers in California.

Included in the dinner are the Russian River Valley sauvignon blanc and four pinot noirs from different vineyards. Pinot noir is an Edwards specialty.

The dinner is at 12:30 p.m. Friday; cost is $80. Make reservations at 214-823-8550. You can see the menu here.
Ken Coopersmith and Merry Edwards/Merry Edwards Winery

Urbano Cafe is having another one of its rowdy BYOB dinners at 7 p.m. Monday night, and there may be a few spaces left.

This time around, the theme is ossobuco three ways - chicken, lamb and veal. Think spirit of ossobuco; the lamb will be in a stew. (See the complete menu on the jump.)

The five-course dinner is $65 (gratuity not included). Bring a bottle or two of your favorite wines. The place is so small that there’s invariably sharing, and that goes for good conversation as well as wine. Call 214-823-8550 to reserve your spot.

Urbano Cafe co-owner Kristen Kauffman e-mails to say that the quirky East Dallas restaurant is hosting another of its wildly popular BYOB dinners at 7 p.m. Monday. In fact, it could be sold out already if past dinners are any indication. If there are still seats, it’s 65 bucks inclusive. Check out the menu on the jump. Call 214-823-8550 to reserve.Continue reading →

Urbano co-owner Kristen Kauffman emailed to tell me that she and Mitch are going on vacation July 6-10 and will open their doors again on July 13. Feel free to call and make reservations, she says. “The restaurant never really sleeps.”

Urbano Cafe’s Kristen Kauffman sends a tip that Terrilli’s is already rebuilding, and they’ve started with restoring the beautiful facade. Check it out on Facebook: Help Lower Greenville.

Speaking of Urbano Cafe, Kristen says they have another BYOB dinner coming up. The first night, April 19, is already sol out, so they’ve added a second night, 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 20. The five-course meal (plus a chef’s surprise course) is $65 (tax and gratuity included). Make reservations at 214-823-8550. Bring good wine, taste good wine. Check out the menu here.

From the press release, with a few trims: El Castor, the first Texas location of a popular Mexico-based restaurant, has leased 2,930 square feet of retail space in Meadow Central Market, a shopping center located at the northwest corner of North Central Expressway and Meadow Road.

El Castor, which operates three locations in Mexico, offers a Mexico City-style menu with an emphasis on traditional Mexican seafood, including specialties like cactus grilled with a stuffing of shrimp, green and red sauce and panela cheese. This dish, Guarache Kikappoo, features the three colors of the Mexican flag.

El Castor is owned and operated by Silvia Mendez and her sons, Fernando and Juan Gerardo, and Silvia created many of the specialty dishes, which are designated on the menu with names that start with “al castor.”

It wasn’t 24 hours ago that I predicted this Sigel’s Dines event at Urbano Cafe would sell out about as fast as 36 people could dial in their reservations. Jasper Russo from Sigel’s reports that it was sold out today by 3 p.m.

So Sigel’s has added a second date: Tuesday, Feb. 9. Get event details in my first post.

Methinks seats for this Sigel’s Dines event (“an exploration of Dallas’ dining alternatives”) will last just as long as it takes 36 people to dial in their reservations. It’s at 7 p.m. on Feb. 8. That’s a Monday.

The venue for the five-course dinner is Urbano Cafe, and the six “high-scoring wines” include Brewer Clifton Chardonnay Mt. Carmel plus two “mystery” reds, a French and an American, with the lamb tenderloin course. Quoth the press release: “Discriminating palates should easily discern the kinship between these two selections.”

It all sounds like great fun for committed wine geeks and eager newbies. Cost is $89 a person, and you make a reservation by contacting Randy McLaughlin or Jasper Russo at Sigel’s, or call 214-350-1271. The full menu is on the jump.Continue reading →